Frozen’s Kristen Bell Put Her Real Life Struggles Into The Sequel

By some Disney magic, it's already been five years since Frozen hit theaters in 2013. Anna, Elsa and Olaf have never felt too far away since the animated musical became a cultural phenomenon, and children and adults alike just couldn't let it go from their minds, Halloween costumes and lunch boxes. To keep the property alive, Disney has also produced two shorts including the characters, Frozen Fever and Olaf's Frozen Adventure, as well as a successful new Broadway musical. In a little over a year, Frozen 2 will come to theaters, and the voice behind Anna, Kristen Bell, recently explained how the sequel is especially personal to her because of writer and co-director Jennifer Lee's approach. Here's what she said:

As we sat down as she started writing the second one and she said, 'You had a hand in creating this character. What do you think her next step would be? What's her next hurdle, her next epiphany? What do you go through that's similar to her?' And I told her a lot of things that I had personally been going through, and why I thought that resonated with what I think Anna would be feeling. And she wrote that into the script.

Kristen Bell's words to Sirius XM create additional excitement for Frozen 2. When Princess Anna first graced the screen, her unique charm resided in her relatable quirks and colorful character, not always found in a Disney heroine beforehand. She was flawed, awkward and unpolished, while also being a strong woman young girls could look up to. It's no surprise that the incredibly funny Kristen Bell had a hand in making the character believable. By consulting her during development, Anna is sure to get another genuine story arc in the sequel. Bell continued by explaining how the writer Jennifer Lee implemented their personal conversation. In her words:

I'll be able to say more when the movie comes out, but there are a lot of very intimate moments for me in this movie that feel like they're from my real life. Songs specifically that were like, I just gave her a spiel about why this particular emotion, or this particular hurdle in my life was so important. And what it taught me. And she slide it seamlessly into the character. It's not just episode two of this show. It's something you need to see them go through, because it affects the audience.

It looks like Frozen 2 is going to hold very close to Kristen Bell's heart. In 2013, Frozen touched audiences with the beautiful story of the relationship between two sisters and the harsh truths about being blindly in love with someone who can betray you, with Hans. It challenged Disney norms by switching up the expectation of it being a love story between family instead between a princess and prince.

Frozen 2 will hit theaters on November 27, 2019. You can see Anna and Elsa make an appearance with the rest of the Disney Princesses in Ralph Breaks the Internet this November.